Corrosive
by spoiledpuppy
Summary: Hinata's luck is supposed to be terrible this week. So was it bad luck that caused her to meet a certain delinquent, or was it fate? AU


Coupling: RenjixHinata

Summary: Hinata's luck is supposed to be terrible this week. So was it bad luck that caused her to meet a certain delinquent, or was it fate?

A.N./ This is for a fan fiction trade with Hinata6 here on . We decided to celebrate Friday the 13th by both writing fanfics based on bad luck and the infamous occasion. And since we liked a weird coupling that no one else has really shipped, we decided to do the oneshots on it. We doubt we'll make anyone like it too but, hey, this is for fun y'know.

By the way, this is AU (alternate universe), so no reapers (I know, its saddening)!

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><p>"Your fortune is really bad this week." Hanabi stated, catching her older sister's attention. The twelve year old was staring intently at the computer in front of her. The girl's breakfast was sitting by her on the desk, untouched. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and when Hinata joined her she noticed that it was starting to come loose.<p>

"Don't be silly, you know those fortunes are fake." She leaned over to look at the webpage her sibling was on. Her section, the Capricorn, was surrounded by exclamation points and terrified emotes. Hinata didn't bother reading the fortune and looked at the time the computer was showing. It was almost time for her to go.

"Hurry up and eat your breakfast, it's getting cold." Hinata pointed at the plate next to them before walking back to the table. Holding her plate in one hand she placed it into the sink and went back to the table to pick up her school bag. Hanabi ignored the order and continued to examine the screen.

Their father commuted back and forth from Kakakura to Konoha, leaving the girls to watch the house during most of the week. The reason he moved them from Konoha in the first place was because he wanted them to have access to what he deemed a 'better learning environment'. Maybe it was the appeal of the larger city that drew him here but Hinata felt that the new environment wasn't as stimulating as her father had hoped.

She hoped that he would have given up on making her the heir by now. It was obvious by now that her interests lied elsewhere. Hinata had given up on ever becoming the President of the Hyuuga Corporation when she was Hanabi's age. Her sister was much bolder than she was and was very observant at times, she'd be a good choice for the position one day.

Hinata was placing Hanabi's lunch, a bento filled with rice, pickled plums, and several other snacks, when she felt a sting on her ankle. She yelped, making her sister jump in her chair. The Hyuuga placed one hand on the table to keep steady as she felt along her ankle for what had caused the abrupt pain.

"What happened?" Hanabi asked, going to her sister's side. Hinata held up her hand, a small ant twitched on her fingers, she'd accidently killed it when she had taken it off her ankle. It was a determined little bug to have bitten her through her knee-high socks like that. She shook the dead ant off her hand and looked at her smug sister.

"Just because an ant bit me doesn't mean it has anything to do with that fortune. Make sure to lock up when you leave for school." Hinata walked away from her little sister to the door.

As she slipped her shoes on she heard Hanabi hum, "Sure it doesn't. Look out for ladders."

Hinata ignored her sister's jibe and left the house. The warm, spring air brushed her dark violet hair over her shoulders as she began her walk to school. She'd been attending Karakura High for about two weeks now and so far her classmates had kept a little distance from her.

She wondered if it was because of the fact that she was the current heiress to the Hyuuga family's business. It probably wasn't very hard for them to figure out who she was; her father was often on television promoting politicians and different products from their company. She sighed, so much for a new start. At least back in Konoha she had Shino and Kiba to talk to.

"Damnit!" The abrupt curse made her jump. A pair of young men, wearing the uniforms of a high school a few blocks away, ran out of an alley near her. They had a few bruises on their faces and were scowling. They slowed down on the sidewalk ahead of her, panting loudly.

"Those jerks are tough." One, a stringy boy with blond hair complained, his hair was a buzz cut and had designs cut into it. The other male was beefier and his nose looked like it had been broken too many times. His dark hair had green highlights to it and a pair of crooked sunglasses struggled to fit around his large head. On one hand he had a pair of iron knuckles that shone dimly in the morning light.

"They're like animals!" The bulky one commented, rubbing the back of his head he looked down at the sidewalk. He flinched as if he touched a sore spot on the back of his head and hissed in pain.

Hinata wondered if she should go to the other side of the road to continue. She had a feeling that it wouldn't be wise to try to go around them on this side of the street. They were obviously delinquents and not in the best of moods at the moment. Unexpectedly, the beefier male froze in place, his eyes drifted up slowly to look at her. He slowly straightened, nudging the blond in the ribs. The sick grin on his face made the Hyuuga's blood chill.

'_Too late'_, she thought as the blond looked her way and the grin that was on his face mirrored his friend's.

"Hey sweetie, what's your name?" The blond chirped as both ambled over to her. Their hands were shoved deep into their pockets. Hinata gulped and lifted her bag up to her waist as if it would deter them from coming any closer. It had the opposite effect as the blond circled to stand behind her, the beefier male chuckling darkly as he towered over her.

"Aw, I don't think she likes us." Before she had time to react he grabbed her bag and ripped it from her hands, tossing it to the side. Hinata flinched backwards into the blond who giggled at her reaction. "What should we do?"

The blonds' fingers settled on her shoulders, "I think she just needs a little _love_ to soften her up, don't you agree?" The way he lingered on the word 'love' made her feel sick. This was getting out of control. She tried to pull away from his grip and, to her surprise, he let her slip away from him, but the darker haired male quickly grabbed onto her arm when she tried to escape.

"Where you going, we haven't even started yet." The two teens laughed at the terrified look on her face.

"That's what I should be saying!" Both of the young men froze, it took Hinata a moment to realize that the person who had spoken wasn't one of them. The beefy male holding her shifted to look behind him, opening a gap where she could see past him.

Bright, crimson hair was the first thing that caught her attention. It was pulled back into a spiky ponytail at the back of the person's head. The cocky grin on his face was directed to the males who were picking on her. A white bandana was tied around his forehead, not quite hiding the tattoos there. His skin was a light tan color, and as he started walking toward them she noticed the top button of his shirt was undone, revealing matching tattoos on his chest. He was wearing the boy's uniform of her school.

"Running away from a fight? What nerve! Haven't you wimps heard of finishing what you've started?" The red haired youth complained, his grin disappeared when he spotted Hinata, a scowl darkening his expression. "What's this? You guys couldn't hit the actual guys who kicked your sorry butts so you're targeting people from our school instead? That's so pathetic it needs its own category."

The blond behind her swore as the beefy teen holding her let go of her arm, swinging his fist at the tattooed delinquent. The grin resurfaced on the redhead's face as he ducked under the green haired punk's arm. The brute's wild attack caused him to lose his balance, which the delinquent took advantage of, swiftly kicking the larger male's side.

The green haired teen grunted, stooping over to grab his side.

"If that's the best you got, it's no wonder you guys tried to run away." The red-haired delinquent mocked. The green-haired teen roared, punching at him wildly again. Hinata stared at the display, her mind stalled as she watched the fight.

It was obvious the tattooed boy was going to win; he was easily striking past the other teen's defenses. Staying cool in the middle of a fight was working to his advantage, unlike the easily provoked brute he was taunting. Strangely, instead of being horrified by the situation she was in, Hinata was almost spellbound.

The green haired teen collapsed on the sidewalk a minute later, gripping his nose with both of his meaty palms. The tattooed youth's sharp brown eyes flashed back up to the blond standing next to Hinata and with an overconfident smirk on his lips, he crooked a finger to him, gesturing for him to fight next. For a moment the stringy male paused but he took the challenge, dashing over to try to land a punch on the cocky youth.

Hinata found herself captured by the violence again, almost forgetting all about the green haired male near her. The beefy male lifted his hands away from his face, the movement caught her attention. Blood dripped onto the sidewalk and from how his nose was situated on his face, it was obviously broken.

Like he was used to doing it, the beefy male snapped it back into place, wincing at the movement. Almost as if feeling her eyes on him, the green haired teen looked over at Hinata. Blood dripped from his newly repaired nose as his eyes hardened in anger and she realized that it probably wasn't a wise decision to have stuck around for so long.

ooo

Renji felt a satisfying crack when his fist connected with the weasel's jaw. The stringy teen huddled on the sidewalk holding his face as the redhead rolled his shoulders in contentment.

There was nothing like a good brawl to work a few kinks out of a guy. These punks never learned their lesson. He smirked, Ichigo was going to be pissed that Renji had managed to find these guys before him.

The blond staggered to his feet, still bent over as he fled. Renji didn't bother chasing after him since their fight was already over. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the previously kneeling brute he had already beaten lurch to his feet quickly. It was then that he realized that the girl that the two had been harassing earlier was still standing there.

The dark haired giant clenched a fist and took a step towards her. Renji realized what the burly guy was about to do and automatically ducked in between them at the last second. He braced himself as the punch meant for the girl behind him collided with his cheek. His ears rang for a moment, the burly guy may be slow and a poor fighter but, damn, he sure could punch hard!

He felt something on his cheek and without looking he knew it was blood. Renji's eyes shot to the surprised thug in front of him, the iron knuckles the guy was wearing had his blood on the edges.

Faster than the green-haired teenager could react, Renji landed a punch on his chin and he enjoyed the feel of fracturing his jaw. The brute stumbled backwards, howling in pain as the tattooed youth gave him a venomous glare.

"What kind of scum would hit a girl? Didn't your ma teach you better?"

Clearly realizing that he was in hot water, the burly male whimpered and fled like his friend. Only after he had disappeared from sight did Renji feel some of the tension in his shoulders unwind.

"A-are you alright?" A timid voice stuttered. He had almost forgotten about her, he looked over his shoulder at the girl. She was a good foot shorter than him, her wide lavender eyes were filled with concern as she stared back at him. Her long hair was a dark violet, verging on black, with straight bangs covering her forehead.

Instead of answering, he scowled down at her, "What were you doing just standing around like that? You should have left when I started fighting them, you idiot!"

She flinched and looked away, "Sorry." After a pause she glanced back up at him again from under her eyelashes, "D-does it hurt?" He was about to shoot back a snarky remark when he saw the anxiety etched into her eyes. Renji felt his irritation subside and his scowl melted into a mere frown.

"It's fine." He grumbled, feeling something in him become flustered at the look on her face. Before he could try to figure it out he heard someone call out to him.

"Yo, Renji! Did you find them?" Ichigo yelled, when Renji glanced away from the dark haired girl he spotted the orange haired teen coming out of the alley he'd exited earlier. Chad, Yumichika, and Ikkaku were close behind him; a pleased grin was on the Ikkaku's face.

"It sure looks like it." Yumichika commented drily, earning a couple chuckles from Ikkaku.

"Couldn't handle a few chickens, Piney?" The bald youth tapped the side of his, referencing the bleeding wound on the redhead.

Renji let his annoyance with the nickname roll off as he threw a grin back, "Just a lucky shot. What about you, Chrome-dome? Seems to me someone ran off with your toupee again."

Ikkaku grimaced, throwing him an annoyed glare. Ichigo covered his mouth to suppress a laugh while Yumichika and Chad didn't react to the jibe, though the small smirk on Yumichika's face was hard to miss.

As Renji joined them, grinning when Ikkaku gave him a half-hearted punch to his shoulder, he noticed Chad was still looking past them.

"What's up, big guy?" He asked as they began walking to school, the others joking about the guys who had jumped them earlier.

Chad looked over his shoulder, "That girl you were talking to…" That caught everyone's attention and, like the immature boys they were, Ikkaku and Ichigo turned to look back at the dark haired girl who still hadn't moved from the spot Renji left her at.

He ignored Ichigo and Ikkaku's surprised faces, "Yeah, what about her?"

"Hey, isn't that the little rich girl who moved here during the summer?" Ichigo blurted, turning to look at Chad who nodded silently.

Yumichika looked over at Ichigo, giving a cursory glance behind them, "Who is she?"

"Hyuuga Hinata," Chad supplied, his gaze focused in front of them again, "Her father is the president of Hyuuga Corp. She's in the same year as Ichigo and I."

"An underclassman, huh?" Ikkaku muttered to himself before turning his attention back to Renji, "Why were you talking with a girl like that?"

Renji looked away from their curious faces, thinking of the best way to answer, "It's none of your business." His snarky reply distracted his friends the rest of the way to school. Lots of comebacks and half-witty observations kept them entertained long enough for most of them to forget all about the Hyuuga girl. On the way Renji took off his bandana to wipe the blood off the side of his face, the stain was easy to hide by turning the white bandana inside out.

There was no hiding the injury, though, and he resolved to stop by the nurse's office to get a bandage before one of the teachers saw it.

ooo

Hinata jumped when she heard another loud noise from the class next door. Class wasn't going to start for another five minutes, not even the teacher was there yet. Some of her classmates looked at the wall witheringly as some of the kids on the other side started yelling at each other.

She should have been used to the rowdiness of the teenagers next door by then, but every time they randomly started making noise surprised her. The Hyuuga sighed as she turned her attention back to the book she was reading. Kakakura High was different from the academy she attended back in Konoha.

The differences still unsettled her a bit. Not to mention the fact that she'd never been approached by hoodlums like that before, the faces of the green haired and blond males floated back into her mind's eye. Hinata hoped that she would forget their faces soon- she didn't really like remembering them that clearly.

'_What kind of scum would hit a girl?'_

Hinata smiled softly and bowed her head to hide it. That red-haired boy may have been brash, but she had to admit that he was pretty cool. She normally would detest fighting but for some reason it didn't really bother her at the moment. What had that orange haired boy called him? 'Renji'?

A light giggling from a group of girls near her caught her attention. They were standing around the desk of a girl next to her, chatting about something they had thought was cute. Feeling a surge of something unfamiliar to her, she cleared her throat, catching their attention. But the minute their eyes locked on her she felt the foreign feeling waver.

"U-um, could I a-ask you guys a question?" The girls blinked. One of them, a girl with short blond hair spoke up.

"Sure, Hyuuga-san. What is it?"

Hinata forced herself not to look away, "I was w-wondering if you knew about a boy named Renji?"

They paused, their eyes widening. A girl with curly brown hair gestured to her head. "Uh, you aren't talking about the one with red hair, right?"

A sense of elation twirled into her chest and she smiled, "That's the one." All the girls stared at her for a minute.

"Er," One girl looked at the others; they didn't seem to know what to say either, "He's a second year. You haven't been in Karakura long so I guess you don't know about the gangs here. There is a main one in our high school: The Reapers. There's also another one that's been formed recently called 'Los Noches'."

A girl looked over at the one who was speaking, "Isn't Renji in the Reapers gang?"

"Yeah I think so. Aren't some of the guys next door in their gang too?"

The girl with curly hair smiled mischievously at the other females, "I heard they were in another fight with those Midoriyama guys this morning."

"Again? Takemura-sensei is going to be pissed!" A blond laughed and the others giggled with her.

"But I'm kind of surprised," The girl sitting in the desk next to her turned her attention back to Hinata. "You wouldn't expect someone like Hyuuga-san to ask about a delinquent like Renji."

Some of the girls paused to look suspiciously at Hinata. The Hyuuga wiggled uncomfortably at all the attention but before any of them could try to pull out the details from her the first bell rang. The girls pouted and reluctantly returned to their seats, much to Hinata's relief.

ooo

Gym class. Hinata watched the other girls warily as they jumped over a tall hurdle, some landing on the cushioning on the other side and others failing miserably. It wasn't that she didn't like exercising- it was just that these sorts of things drew a lot of attention.

A few of the other first, second, and third year classes were also outside today. For the most part, the first years were doing practices like jumping over hurdles. The second years were running the track, and the seniors were doing stretches.

"Hyuuga Hinata!" The coach barked loudly, writing something down on a clipboard about the last girl.

Hinata let out a slow breath, standing up from the huddle of girls waiting their turn, and walked over to the end of the short running area. A sharp whistle later she sprinted down the runway, reaching her hands out in front of her to boost herself over the hurdle when she reached it. She felt almost weightless as she cleared over the top, but she was brought back to reality when her feet landed on the mat.

The coach nodded at her, "Nice form, Hyuuga. Fujiwara, you're next!" As she left the mat, a girl patted her on the shoulder.

"That was great, Hyuuga-san! I couldn't even get on the stupid thing." The girl complimented her, much to Hinata's embarrassment.

"T-thanks." She dipped her head, trying to hide behind her bangs. To her disappointment, the girl left her side to talk with her friends. All of the girls from her class were headed back to the gym to relax for the rest of the period since the hurdle was the last thing they had to do.

Her body still felt light from the hurdle but her heart was sinking. It wasn't like she expected to become friends with that girl, but Hinata had hoped that their conversation would be just a little longer.

She slowed her pace on the way back to the gym, her eyes glancing toward the track when she saw a flash of red. She felt herself jump when she spotted Renji doing laps. Hinata was faintly surprised- normally guys like him would slack off. She recognized one of the guys she'd seen him with that morning also running, the bald guy.

Strangely, Renji seemed to be enjoying himself. There was a small white bandage on his cheek and she remembered how he had stepped in to protect her that morning. Hinata felt a light tingling on her cheeks and she lifted a hand to feel them. Why was she blushing?

Hinata looked back just in time to see a coach step out onto the track, waving down Renji. Even if they were too far away to hear she could tell the coach was angry about something.

ooo

Renji shoved his hands into the pockets of his gym wear, putting on an indifferent expression as the coach led him away from the track. He already knew why he was being singled out even though he wasn't the only one who had been in a fight that morning. The injury on his cheek was proof enough of his activities. He scowled inwardly; he knew he was going to get an earful about it.

Coach Takamura stopped, turning to face Renji when they were a good distance from the other teens that were still running, "How many times have we told you not to get into fights, Abarai? It makes our school look bad when our students go around beating each other up." Renji averted his eyes to a building near them as if he didn't really care about what the coach was saying, and he didn't.

Maybe if the coach was a bit taller, he'd take him more seriously. But when Renji could see over his head, it was hard to do that.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He lied smoothly, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head, "I haven't been in a fight since the last time you pulled me out of class."

"That's what you said last time, too." Takamura groaned, "I'm going to have to take you into the principal, Aba-."

The sound of footsteps running toward them caught their attention. Renji tilted his head lazily to the side to look to see who was coming over. To his surprise, Hyuuga Hinata was the one who appeared in his line of sight. Why was she here?

Hinata slowed down when she reached them, panting lightly. Her pale eyes immediately locked on his face, her face twisting with guilt.

"Uh, Miss, um…?" Takamura hesitated, staring at the girl. Apparently he didn't know who she was, and even though until that morning Renji hadn't either he felt a small surge of his ego.

"How's your c-cheek, Renji-kun?" He stared blankly at her, how did she know his name? "I didn't hurt it too badly, did I?" Renji's brain came to a stop.

Wait, what did she say?

Takamura's mouth dropped open, "Huh? You what?"

Hinata lifted a hand to her mouth, looking away from both of them. There was a light blush on her cheeks, "This morning I mistook him f-for a stalker and hit him w-with my bag." Renji's brain stopped again and he felt an indignant flush on his cheeks.

Why the hell was she trying to cover for him? Better yet, why did she have to say that she thought he was stalker?

The coach seemed surprised by the outright lie and a guilty blush appeared on his face, "Oh, is that what happened? Uh, well, Abarai you can go back now, I guess."

Renji wasn't surprised Takamura bought it, why would anyone suspect a meek girl like her covering for a known delinquent? On his way back to the track he wondered why someone like her would do that for him. He glanced over his shoulder; Coach Takamura was talking to the Hyuuga who was nodding shyly at something he said.

ooo

Hinata let out a tense sigh, that was more nerve-wracking then she had thought it was going to be. Since it was break she had managed to slip out class. Currently, she was sitting on the lawn near the baseball field.

There were other groups of students also relaxing in the sunshine; most talking to their friends or watching some of the baseball team members practice their swings. Some of the students cheered when a batter managed to make the ball reach the top of the fence surrounding the diamond.

She looked back down at the book in her lap, she had been worried that the coach would interrogate her further but all he had wanted to know what her name was so he could remember it the next time he saw her. Even though Hinata knew she should feel bad for lying to a teacher, she couldn't bring herself to feel that way.

Remotely she noticed someone walking towards her but ignored it, figuring it was someone looking for a spot closer to the field. So she was understandably surprised when the person sat next to her. Hinata blinked, turning her head to see who it was.

"Abarai-kun?"

Renji scowled, "What happened to 'Renji-kun'?" She blushed and closed the book she was holding. His scowl faded and instead a light frown took over his features, "Why'd you help me? I just would have been suspended for a day or two."

It was Hinata's turn to frown. "But it was my fault you got hurt. You probably wouldn't have gotten in t-trouble if it wasn't for that bandage."

The redhead looked away from her, his brown eyes focusing on the baseball diamond, "Maybe, but they could have just called everyone they suspected of fighting out."

As a layer of silence settled between them, her lavender eyes moved to the book in her lap. She couldn't help but notice how close they were at the moment. Both of their legs were stretched out on the grass and every once in awhile his jeans brushed against her leg, inciting a light blush on her cheeks.

"What are you reading anyway?"

One minute her book was in her lap and the next it disappeared. Hinata stared at her legs dumbly before quickly looking at Renji. The missing reading material was in his hands and she wished she hadn't let her guard down long enough for him to snatch it. He flipped open the cover and she bowed her head, already feeling her cheeks turn pink.

"…Ninja…?" The disbelief in his voice was all it took for the light blush to become a few shades darker.

"Er, I-I think ninja a-are cool." She could feel him staring at her.

Without warning Renji started laughing at full volume, startling, and embarrassing, her further when everyone within a 100-foot radius looked their way. She buried her face in her hands, hoping that would hide her blush.

"For being a rich kid," He managed to get out after he stopped laughing, "You're alright. I'm Abarai Renji. It's fine to call me 'Renji-kun', by the way." Hinata lifted her head up to see a confident grin on his face. For some reason it made her pulse quicken.

"H-Hyuuga Hinata." She replied quietly, looking at her lap again.

"Nice to meet you, Hinata-chan." Her eyes widened and she immediately turned her attention back to him.

The Hyuuga stared at his cheerful face for a moment, "'Hinata'…'chan'?"

One of his eyebrows raised, "What? Too forward?"

No one had called her that since she left Konoha, and all her classmates called her 'Hyuuga-san'. She'd only just met him and he already…

Hinata smiled warmly at him and shook her head, "No, that's fine… I-Is it really that weird for me to like ninja?"

Renji frowned, "Huh? Not really. I just thought the face you had been making was funny." He explained bluntly, looking at an illustration on the page he was on.

Hanabi had said that her luck this week was going to be bad, but if it was bad luck that was the cause of meeting Renji, then maybe it wasn't that unlikeable. As she pondered over this Renji flipped open the ninja book and pointed out something to her in one of the illustrations.

-o-

Several hours previous…

"Look out for ladders." Hanabi teased as her sister closed the door behind her. She giggled lightly and went to grab her own school bag. She then went to the computer to shut it down. The junior high school girl was about to close the browser when she noticed something on the webpage she was on.

The date for the horoscope she was on was dated for last week. Stunned for a moment, she clicked the button to move to the current horoscope.

Hanabi whistled after she read it. "How would you like that?"

_-Capricorn_

_-Romance is in the air this week! Single Sea Goats, watch out for Virgo because they're likely to sweep you off your feet. There are promising connections at 7-9 AM, for students this will be a great time to find a match. Breaks and lunches will also be likely chances for you to catch someone's eye.- _

Hanabi wondered if she should tell her sister about it later when she got home…

"Nah," She shut down the computer, "She doesn't even believe in horoscopes."

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><p>A.N. This got so long… Oh well. Hope you guys liked it! I might more chapters for this, I can think of different things that can happen and it'd be nice to flesh out on this…


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